The First Dance
by Paige242
Summary: They watched each other dance and wished that things were different. Eretria/Wil (One Shot)


A/N- _I love the moment in Utopia when Wil sees Eretria dancing with Tye. There is such pining and sadness in his eyes and I got the sense that he wished he could have been the one dancing with her. This reflects on that moment and then jumps ahead several months, when the tables have turned._

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( _1x08_ )

Wil caught sight of Eretria across the dimly lit room.

She was wearing a beautiful white dress which flittered behind her as a man twirled her across the floor. It was a beautiful sight to behold and he was relieved to see his friend alive and well.

And yet, Wil found himself filling with an unexpected surge of jealousy.

Even though he had not yet had time to sort through his feelings for the rover, he had the sudden urge to march across the room and push that smug looking stranger aside.

 _He_ wanted to dance with her.

 _He_ wanted to make her smile.

But, despite these sudden and unexpected desires, Wil knew that this was not an option. They were there to get Eretria and slip out undetected. It was far too risky to stride across the room and cut in, especially here. Wil had always avoided large groups of humans—he knew that he wasn't welcomed in a human settlement. If someone accidently knocked his hat off and exposed his elf-like ears, he knew he'd be in deep trouble.

He had to be as discreet as possible. He had to stick to the edges of the crowded room, stay safely hidden in the shadows, and watch as a human man effortlessly offer her an experience that he never could.

If only things had been different.

If only he was normal…

Shaking his head, the young Halfling forced himself to look away.

There was no use dwelling on what could not be.

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(Post 1x10)

The ball had been thrown in _their_ honour, to celebrate _their_ quest, but Eretria had known all along that she was not going to feel particularly welcomed here.

Sure, she had befriended Amberle and had played a big part in getting the princess to Safehold…but she was still a complete outsider in Aborlon. There were few in the elven court who were interested in getting to know a rover and she had been reluctant to participate when King Ander had proposed the event.

It had been several months since the war, and the devastating loss of their friend. And even though none of them had particularly felt like celebrating, Ander had insisted that a commemoration of their quest would be good for the morale of the elven people. Wil had agreed, and Eretria had been swayed enough by their arguments to make an appearance.

As she suspected, however, Wil was the true star of the show that evening.

Although he had spent quite a bit of time at the castle since retrieving her from Safehold there were, apparently, many people who had not yet met the mysterious "Son of Shannara."

Wil wasn't the sort of person that enjoyed the spotlight and she had been amused, at first, to see him squirm uncomfortably as crowds of elves flocked towards him when they entered the room. Within minutes of their arrival, she had managed to slip away from the horde, offering him a smug wink as she left him helplessly stranded with his admirers.

At first, she had been relieved to get away.

But after nearly an hour of wandering the great hall, alone and ignored, the rover was getting restless. The elves were not keen to talk to her, the food was disgusting, and she was in no mood to dance by herself in the crowded room. Tired and hungry, she had finally flopped down on a marble bench to wait for the night to pass her by.

Coming here had been a mistake, and she would have given anything to get back to her cabin in the woods.

Eretria was not able to wallow in her misery for long, however. She could sense a large figure take a seat beside her and she turned to see a familiar face starring back at her.

"Allanon." She said, somewhat relieved to discover that she was not the only human in the room.

He offered her a small nod. It wasn't particularly warm or friendly, but she knew him well enough not to be offended. The druid was generally a serious man, and she was happy to take seriousness over loneliness on that particular evening.

"It doesn't look like you're enjoying the festivities." He noted astutely as his eyes surveyed the room. "I thought we were supposed to be here celebrating your quest."

She shrugged, trying her best to seem nonchalant. "Well, I started that quest as a prisoner and elves aren't known for their love of humans…so, yeah. It's pretty much as terrible as I expected. I'm cranky, isolated and starving."

The man gave a small chuckle. "Nobody warned you about elven cuisine, did they?" His eyes flicking towards a table of beautiful, but unappetizing, platters of food. Eretria had eagerly tried some of it earlier, only to be overcome with some of the most unpleasant flavours she had ever encountered. The contents of her napkin were now safely hidden in a nearby plant.

Eretria scoffed. "Wil is always going on about how great the food is at the castle. But I've never had anything so disgusting before. Do they make a habit of cooking with dirt or something?"

This time, Allanon smiled. A rare sight, as far as she knew.

"No, but most people don't realize that elven taste buds are different than ours." He explained before reaching into his satchel and passing her a piece of bread which she accepted gratefully. "They often cook with ingredients that are very unpalatable to humans."

"But Wil said—"

"Wil isn't human." He reminded her before she could finish.

As she swallowed her first bite of much needed food, Eretria nodded. She knew that—of course she did. But he had become such a close friend and confidant during these past few months that she had made a habit of grouping him with "us" rather than "them."

In truth, Wil was neither "us" nor "them"…but, as tonight was making quite apparent, "they" seemed to accept him quite eagerly. And he didn't seem to mind.

As she caught sight of him, still chatting to a large group of enthralled looking elves, a small frown tugged at her face.

"He certainly doesn't seem human at all tonight." She muttered before she thought better of it.

Eretria didn't really want to start a heart to heart with Allanon about her deepest thoughts and feelings, but the sight of him like this had blown discretion from her mind.

If she hadn't known him, she would have sworn he was like any other elf in that great hall. His newly cropped hair helped emphasize his pointed ears and he was dressed in the formal elven style that was common in the court. He had even capped his ears with those silver tips that elves seemed to enjoy on such occasions (she knew that he had been proud to inherit a pair that had once belonged to his famous ancestor).

"No." Allanon agreed, following her gaze.

He made a dashing elf, and she could see more than a few young elven girls giggling and whispering as they looked his way. Despite herself, she felt her scowl deepen as she watched them. It was no surprise, really. He was undeniably handsome—and, apparently, he was from an ancient royal line.

Eretria wasn't sure what he had been discussing during all of his meetings with King Ander lately, but she suspected that he might soon take on a larger role at the court. Apparently, this Shannara thing was a pretty big deal to the elves.

Tonight had made that very clear.

"Well, I'm glad he's happy here." Eretria said with a forced smile. "And there seem to be plenty of eligible young ladies keen to make his acquaintance. That's nice."

To her surprise, Allanon snorted again.

"I thought you were supposed to be a good liar." He noted with a smirk. "But you're not fooling anyone tonight."

The rover felt a deep flush spread across her cheeks and she stubbornly looked away from the druid, unwilling to acknowledge his comment.

Unfortunately, in her effort to avoid the topic, she ended up fixing her gaze on Wil once again—just in time to see him be led onto the dance floor by a beautiful elf with long blonde hair.

As she watched them start their dance, Eretria was unable to suppress the surge of jealousy rising within her. She had spent so many months trying not to care. So many sleepless nights convincing herself that he'd be happier with his own kind. Without her. But the love she had once felt towards the Halfling had never really gone away. In fact, the more time she had spent with Wil, the more she had begun to dream of what could never be.

As she watched him sway with a girl befitting of his place and status in this world, Eretria found herself fighting off an annoying lump in her throat.

She knew that she would always be on the edge here. On the outside.

She wished that things were different.

She wished that she could be what he needed.

But she knew that there was no use dwelling on what could not be.

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( _Five years later_ )

Eretria placed his head on his shoulder as he held her close. Soft music played in the background as their small group of friends looked on with wide smiles.

Allanon. Ander. Catania. Flick.

All of their faces passed by as the couple spun around the empty dance floor.

The entire day had been an amazingly happy blur, and she could not suppress a grin as she looked up at her new husband.

"I used to dream of dancing with you, you know." Wil whispered, his smile just as wide as hers as he glanced down at her flowing white dress. "I should have told you that such a long time ago."

The girl let out a small chuckle. "I could say the same." She replied, thinking back to days gone by.

"But we made it, in the end."

 _Everything was as it was meant to be._


End file.
